MICHAEL GREEN’S WINE NOTES # 262

Wine with a real historical significance has been made by the Weltevrede wine estate in the Robertson valley.

The wine comes from seven ancient vines which were discovered seven years ago in the prison garden on Robben Island. It was in this garden that Nelson Mandela buried the handwritten manuscript of his book Long Walk to Freedom.

The Weltevrede (“Well-satisfied”) estate, about 200 kilometres east of Cape Town, near the village of Bonnievale, dates back to 1912 and for the past hundred years it has been in the hands of the Jonker family, the present owner being Philip Jonker.

In 1998 it established an empowerment project, the Weltevrede Aansporingstrust (“Incentive trust”), which resulted in its employees owning a vineyard of pinot noir vines and sharing the profit from it.

In 2005, members of the trust visited Robben Island and were told how Mr Mandela had buried his book in the garden. Vines grew there, and in response to a question the prison guide said “The grapes never ripen because no-one looks after them”.

At Weltevrede this sparked the notion of trying to nurse the old vines back to health. The idea remained dormant until 2008, when it was taken up by Professor Jakes Gerwel, chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

For three years members of the Weltevrede Aansporingstrust made regular journeys to the island to prune the vines, repair the trellising, manage the foliage and protect the grapes. The main challenges were bad weather and the island birds, which devoured the first two crops. But eventually this year, 2012, the first crop of Robben Island grapes, totalling 182 kilograms, was carried on board the ferry to be shipped to the mainland and to the winery at Weltevrede.

The grapes are being used for two wines: a sweet dessert wine called The Parable and a Methode Cap Classique sparkling wine in magnums called The Manuscript. The first bottle of The Parable is being presented to Mr Mandela for his 94th birthday. The Manuscript is still in the making.

The wines will be sold only at international charity auctions. They are seen, justifiably, as a symbol of South Africa’s healing through hardship and sacrifice. – Michael Green